The Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong yesterday launched a new shipping cell to transport goods to and from the port city to other parts of Bangladesh.
The launch of the new cell comes amid a dispute between the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong and the Water Transport Cell, which was established in 2023 to manage the transportation of goods by lighter vessels in Bangladesh.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud inaugurated the new cell at a program in the port city.
The Water Transport Cell was composed of three organizations: the Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners Association, the Coastal Ship Owners Association of Bangladesh, and the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong.
There were 1,300 vessels under the control of the Water Transport Cell. But now with the control of 300 vessels under their ownership, the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong separated it from the Water Transport Cell to launch the new cell.
The Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong formulated a policy specifying 15 points for overall management. A nine-member committee was formed to manage the overall activities including allocation of lighter ships.
Former Chattogram city mayor AZM Nasir Uddin was made convened while Belayet Hossain, Parvez Ahmed (co-convener), Md Nurul Amin, Shafiq Ahmad, Mohammad Azizur Rahman, Narottam Chandra Saha, MA Bakar and Pradeep Ranjan Chakraborty made members.
The Inland Vessel Owners Association has been accusing the Water Transport Cell of failing to coordinate with stakeholders and of charging excessive fees for its services. It also argues that the Water Transport Cell is not a government-regulated entity and therefore has no authority to regulate non-members.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
